Enufsenuf

From Mr. Ford during a town hall meeting this week: absolutely mgmt has your back. I've been where you're at ... I've worked the streets ... You can call me directly; don't let the title stop you from calling me ... Hold me accountable. About 15 minutes later during the same meeting from Mr. Ford: don't expect me to support you if a member of management is involved as I have to support him and his credibility. REALLY! What's changed? What about the credibility of us field agents and IOIs? And Mr. Jones doesn't like us airing the agency's dirty laundry on a public website, but where else do we have to go? While I know this new regime has only been in place a week I'm starting to wonder where we are headed.

Hey Vince, McMahon said in his testimony that Agents can go to the Ombudsman! You know, the office that reports calls to ATF Counsel. Or the office that is unfamiliar with ATF Orders and is unwilling to intervene with management. I am the Walrus.

Couldn't believe McMahon said that with a straight face! I actually laughed out loud.

I hope I am wrong about the benefit of this website. I want this agency to be what is should be. Not filled with discontented and demoralized agents beaten down by bureaucrats and political hacks. I understand your anger, been there. Was angry for many years about my situation and the situation of others just trying to do the right thing. But you know what, that anger begins to really consume your life. Almost cost me my marriage. Eventually you have to let it go, the anger I mean. For me I figured out that if I can get up every day and go to work with the mindset of doing what I knew to be right, then I was winning the fight. To me keeping faith with my brothers and sister agents and supporting them day to day is my mission now. Small victories is all I work for now.

I saw your post and the part highlighted above hit a chord with me so I just wanted to comment. Yep, I had that anger and it consumed me to the point of depression, but thankfully it also worked to fuel my fight. That was when the IOIs were covered by the union and I went to the union after a series of issues including harrassment from management, "admonishment" letters, a 5-day suspension, etc. -- all because I was exercising my right to grieve management actions. The union had a great attorney who worked with us for over 2 years (i.e. I didn't have to pay out-of-pocket and deplete family finances to fight). Unfortunately, we ran into the same problems with HQ as many others on this site have and are encountering - lack of timely responses, dismissing grievances without any authority to do so, producing documents the night before a scheduled hearing, continual requests for extensions, retaliation because of the grievances, etc. After about 2 1/2 years when everything was resolved and an agreement was reached, I could not seem to shake the anger I continued to feel. This website did not exist at that time (at least to my knowledge) and I had that feeling of aloneness others have mentioned in their posts ... along with fear of what was coming next from management. I can't say that it almost cost me my marriage, but it wasn't a happy time. For me, I needed to let the anger go to survive and move on and that would have been a heck of a lot easier had this website been up and running back then.

I was ecstatic to see this site developed and I believe it is needed. Employees have no other place to air their frustrations and to "discuss" management matters . . . unless they have a confidant in their office. I've learned, however, not to put my faith in coworkers - I save that for God alone. As referenced in one of your earlier posts, I don't find this site entertaining - I find it sad that ATF has so many people at the top who have so little regard for others and themselves. It is sad that so many employees and their families are affected by ATF's mis-management. My heart breaks for people who are in daily battles with management ... because I remember what it was like. As you suggested in one post, why the heck would we want to "engage" with those we are hammering? I want nothing to do with management. Let me do my work and leave me alone.

But is this site beneficial to employees? You bet ya! I'm thankful for those who developed the site and for all of the insite I and others have received from the webmaster, moderators and other members. Sometimes you've just got to do what's right and management isn't doing it. Do I want to see ATF dissolved or our functions go to another agency? Nope, but if management can't get it together maybe that would be best. And to answer one of your previous questions, I think everyone who browses this website feels better after doing so. I, for one, feel encouraged that I'm not alone and that I now have others to vent with ... even though I may not know their "real" names.

Have a great day everyone!

“When young men seek to be like you,
when lazy men resent you,
when powerful men look over their shoulder at you,
when cowardly men plot behind your back,
when corrupt men wish you were gone
and evil men want you dead…
Only then will you have done your share.”
- Phil Messina
"There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right."
Ronald Reagan

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil - is that good men do nothing."

Then why are there so many good men - still doing nothing? Has the moral bankruptcy that infests our management filled our ranks as well? Are our moral compasses now only navigated by the consequences which await us when we follow them? Has our sense of what’s right become conditional on our landing on the winning side? What happened? I’ve made my choice:
“I would rather sleep in the southern corner of a little country churchyard, than in the tombs of the Capulets.”

I just never thought that there would be so few others there with me.

AMEN to that! At times I thought co-workers would step up for what they know is right, but it always comes down to "I have to work for that manager." So the evil continues for fear of retaliation. Very frustrating but common in ATF. The fear of retaliation is overwhelming for some employees.